Asbestos removal from schools poorly handled

Queensland government’s builder - QBuild’s handling of asbestos at a north Queensland school is inappropriate says a report. After a painter at the Mackay West State School identified asbestos in December 2009, the QBuild workers came in to decontaminate the area but they did not wear protective clothing and removed dust with a domestic vacuum cleaner.

QBuild general manager Keith Eaton in response said training recommendations in the report have been adopted, making it safer for workers and the public. He said, “There is now a strict set of procedures that our staff follow…There is no work done when there are children in school or members of the public present and depending on whether the nature of the work, whether it’s a maintenance activity or a removal activity, there are strict guidelines in terms of the procedure in using the material and the wearing of protective equipment.”

Public Works Minister Robert Schwarten yesterday released an overview of the report assuring that students and staff were not harmed. He said, “QBuild takes the issue of asbestos management extremely seriously and has already taken action as a result of the investigators recommendations.” Last month, three unions threatened industrial action over the way asbestos was handled at Atherton state High School, southwest of Cairns. Ms Bligh admitted an asbestos scare at Redcliffe State High School, north of Brisbane, had been badly handled. She admitted that the community should have been informed which was not the case.

Dr. Ananya Mandal

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Dr. Ananya Mandal

Dr. Ananya Mandal is a doctor by profession, lecturer by vocation and a medical writer by passion. She specialized in Clinical Pharmacology after her bachelor's (MBBS). For her, health communication is not just writing complicated reviews for professionals but making medical knowledge understandable and available to the general public as well.

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